Agway expands showroom to meet demand

Updated 11:26 pm, Thursday, May 8, 2014

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Keitha Salemme, 43, of Ansonia, Store Manager of Agway, in Bethel, Conn, stands in its expanded showroom The store added 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet, and changed around its displays. Thursday, May 8, 2014. less

Keitha Salemme, 43, of Ansonia, Store Manager of Agway, in Bethel, Conn, stands in its expanded showroom The store added 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet, and changed around its displays. ... more

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Paul Tilkins, 43, of Bethel, puts out 40lbs bags of bird seed in the Agway store, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet. Tilkins works in the warehouse.

Paul Tilkins, 43, of Bethel, puts out 40lbs bags of bird seed in the Agway store, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000

A Dianthus plant on display outside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

A Dianthus plant on display outside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Bird feeders on display inside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet.

Bird feeders on display inside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet.

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Nancy Dillon, 70, of Newtown works with plants on display outside of Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. 2

Nancy Dillon, 70, of Newtown works with plants on display outside of Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. 2

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Paul Tilkins, 43, of Bethel, puts out bags of salt at the Agway store, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square feet. Tilkins works in the warehouse. less

Paul Tilkins, 43, of Bethel, puts out bags of salt at the Agway store, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. The store has expanded its showroom, adding 1,500 square feet, for a total of 9,000 square ... more

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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A rack of flowers on display outside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

A rack of flowers on display outside Agway, in Bethel, Conn, on Thursday, May 8, 2014.

Photo: H John Voorhees III

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Agway expands showroom to meet demand

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BETHEL -- The owners of Agway recently completed an expansion of the showroom to offer more products and meet increased demand for garden center products and pet supplies, a growing segment of the family-owned business.

The store completed the alterations during the winter season, when it turned about 1,500 square feet of warehouse space into a new showroom section that includes expanded lines of premium and holistic pet food -- the biggest recent driver of increased pet food sales.

"Our pet department has been growing steadily for years and we were at our saturation point," said Keitha Salemme, who has been managing the location for more than 13 years. "Pet owners are very loyal customers -- once they start shopping with us they usually come back. We are also very competitively priced."

She added customer service and the quality of the locally grown plants also have a big impact. Because nearly 95 percent of the plants are grown in Connecticut, she said, they are already acclimated to the climate, unlike big-box stores that can truck in their plants from as far away as Florida.

"We are very much a hometown community store," she said. "When someone walks in on a Saturday afternoon, and you know both them and their dog by name -- that really means a lot."

Both Salemme and the store's owner John Bergantino, said they also spend a great deal of time making sure the employees are properly trained and knowledgeable about the products.

"We want to make sure our customers get the right answers to their questions," Salemme said. "If we don't have the answer we'll find it."

Bergantino said many of the employees are also gardeners and pet owners themselves.

"Our staff knows what they are talking about and I believe the customers really appreciate that," he said. "You're not going to get that level of customer service with our competitors."

Area resident Liz Jorgensen, who was buying some plants for Mother's Day this week, said she goes to Agway every spring for her annuals. She also purchases premium dog food for one of her pets.

"I always love coming here because the staff is always so friendly and helpful," she said. "You really want to talk to somebody who knows that they are doing."

Salemme said the renovations were completed in time for the store's busiest weekend -- Mother's Day.